What is Rape?
Rape is when a man has forced sexual intercourse with a woman against her will and without her consent. It’s a crime and violation against her body. It is not sex but an expression of violence, anger, and power meant to humiliate the victim. A woman who is raped suffers physical trauma and emotional trauma, and unfortunately she is often blamed for provoking the crime!
Rape happens because of society’s attitudes and perceptions towards women where women are treated as sex objects while men are perceived as dominant with a right to behave as they like. No one deserves to be raped or sexually assaulted. A woman should not be blamed for being raped.
Types of Rape
Rape and Statutory Rape
Rape is when a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who is not his wife and without her consent. Statutory rape is sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 years of age, with or without her consent. (Section 375 and 376 of the Penal Code)
Incest
It is called incest if it involves sexual intercourse between family members including fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers and other relatives as stipulated in the law.
Incest often takes the form of child sexual abuse; the perpetrator normally is an adult who breach the child’s trust. An adult who commits incest is criminally liable, whether or not there was consent. (Section 376A and 376B of the Penal Code)
Marital Rape
In Malaysia, the Penal Code does not recognise marital rape. Sexual intercourse between a man and his wife without her consent is not rape unless the man and his wife are divorced or judicially separated or if there is an injunction restraining the husband from having sexual intercourse with his wife. However, it is an offence if the husband causes hurt, threatens, or hurt his wife in order to have sexual intercourse. (Section 375A of the Penal Code)
Unfortunately, this implies that consent to marriage means consent to sex unconditionally. In other words, by entering into marriage, the husband has automatic rights over the wife’s body and as such cannot and should not be charged for rape. He can forced sex on her even if she does not consent. Research has shown that the trauma of being raped by husbands is higher than those raped by strangers.
Effects of Rape
The violent nature of rape is evidenced by the trauma it causes to victims both physically and mentally. The trauma is often compounded by the inappropriate responses given to rape victims by those around them due to the myths surrounding rape. Such trauma symptoms can be understood in two phases – those immediately following the rape, and those which persist for a long time after the assault. Effects can include:-
- Injuries to the vaginal and anal areas
- Bruises
- Fatigue and sleep problems
- Nausea and tension headaches
- Abdominal pain
- Unwanted pregnancy
- Sexually transmitted infection or diseases
- Fear of physical injury
- Anger, self-blame and helplessness
- Humiliation, shame and guilt
- Mood swings and fluctuating emotions
- Suffer flashbacks and nightmares
- Depression and anxiety
- Suicidal thoughts or attempts
Check out books, posters & pamphlets and videos on Rape.